European air quality, in key statistics
The headline numbers on Europe's air, from EEA observations and the EEA Burden of Disease assessment. Every figure links to its source and is free to cite (see below).
The number that matters
Europe's population-weighted PM2.5 is 12.5 µg/m³ - 2.5× the WHO 2021 health guideline, and the EEA attributes about 238,000 premature deaths a year to it across the EU-27.
- 12.5 µg/m³
- PM2.5, population-weighted
- 28/28
- countries above WHO guideline
- 238k
- PM2.5 deaths/yr (EEA 2022)
- Bulgaria→Sweden
- dirtiest → cleanest
Key statistics
- 12.5 µg/m³
- EU+UK population-weighted PM2.5 (annual mean)
- 2.5×
- PM2.5 vs the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³)
- 28 of 28
- countries above the WHO PM2.5 guideline
- 238,378
- PM2.5-attributable premature deaths/yr, EU-27 (EEA 2022, modeled)
- Bulgaria 19.8
- highest national PM2.5 (µg/m³)
- Sweden 5.4
- lowest national PM2.5 (µg/m³)
- 39
- EEA monitoring stations tracked
- 25 → 10 µg/m³
- EU annual PM2.5 limit now → from 2030
The 12 highest-PM2.5 countries in Europe
Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) - every bar exceeds the WHO 2021 guideline of 5
- Bulgaria
Bulgaria: 19.8 µg/m³
19.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Poland
Poland: 18.4 µg/m³
18.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Romania
Romania: 17.6 µg/m³
17.6 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Cyprus
Cyprus: 16.9 µg/m³
16.9 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Hungary
Hungary: 16.8 µg/m³
16.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Croatia
Croatia: 16.4 µg/m³
16.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Italy
Italy: 16.3 µg/m³
16.3 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Slovakia
Slovakia: 15.6 µg/m³
15.6 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Czech Republic
Czech Republic: 15.2 µg/m³
15.2 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Greece
Greece: 14.7 µg/m³
14.7 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Slovenia
Slovenia: 13.4 µg/m³
13.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Malta
Malta: 12.8 µg/m³
12.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
What this shows Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania record Europe's highest fine-particulate levels; the Nordic and Baltic north is cleanest.
Cite these statistics
Free to reproduce with attribution. Suggested citation:
PlainAirQuality, "Key European Air Quality Statistics" (2026-07-04), derived from European Environment Agency Air Quality e-Reporting and EEA Burden of Disease (2022). https://plainairquality.com/statistics/
Underlying sources: EEA Air Quality e-Reporting · EEA Burden of Disease 2024 (2022 data) · WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines, 2021. See our methodology.